A Texas White Christmas

"Unwarmed by any sunset light
The gray day darkened into night,
A night made hoary with the swarm
And whirl-dance of the blinding storm,
As zigzag, wavering to and fro
Crossed and recrossed the wingèd snow:
And ere the early bed-time came
The white drift piled the window-frame,
And through the glass the clothes-line posts
Looked in like tall and sheeted ghosts."

John Greenleaf Whittier

Hail Atlantis

Atlantis

by Donovan

The continent of Atlantis was an island
Which lay before the great flood
In the area we now call the Atlantic Ocean.
So great an area of land, that from her western shores
Those beautiful sailors journeyed to the South
And the North Americas with ease
In their ships with painted sails.
To the east, Africa was a neighbor,
Across a short strait of sea miles.

The great Egyptian age is but a remnant
Of the Atlantian culture.
The antediluvian kings colonized the world;
All the Gods who play in the mythological dramas
In all legends from all lands were from fair Atlantis.

Knowing her fate, Atlantis sent out ships to all corners of the Earth.
On board were the Twelve:
The poet, the physician, the farmer, the scientist, the magician,
And the other so-called Gods of our legends,
Though Gods they were.
And as the elders of our time choose to remain blind,
Let us rejoice and let us sing and dance and ring in the new . . .
Hail Atlantis!

Way down below the ocean, where I wanna be, she may be . . .
Way down below the ocean, where I wanna be, she may be . . .

My antediluvian baby, oh yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah,
I want to see you some day.
My antediluvian baby, oh yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah,
My antediluvian baby.
My antediluvian baby, I love you, girl;
Girl, I want to see you some day.
My antediluvian baby, oh yeah,
I want to see you some day, oh,
My antediluvian baby.
My antediluvian baby, I want to see you;
My antediluvian baby—gotta tell me where she gone—
I want to see you some day,
Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, oh yeah;
Oh glub glub, down down, yeah . . .

Pumpkin Season

There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in. ~Graham Greene, The Power and the Glory

















When grandparents enter the door, discipline flies out the window. ~Ogden Nash

Shreveport

"Divine Nature gave the fields, human art built the cities." ~Marcus Terentius Varro

Julie's Cat

"There's no need for a piece of sculpture in a home that has a cat." ~Wesley Bates

Louisiana

Give Me Louisiana
by Doralice Fontane

Give me Louisiana,
The state where I was born
The state of snowy cotton,
The best I've ever known;
A state of sweet magnolias
And creole melodies
Oh give me Louisiana,
The state where I was born
Oh what sweet old memories
The mossy old oaks bring
It brings us the story of our Evangeline
A state of old tradition,
Of old plantation days
Makes good old Louisiana
The sweetest of all states.

Give me Louisiana,
A state prepared to share
That good old southern custom,
Hospitality so rare;
A state of fruit and flowers,
Of sunshine and spring showers
Oh give me Louisiana,
The state where I was born
Its woodlands, Its marshes
Where humble trappers live
Its rivers, Its valleys,
A place to always give
A state where work is pleasure,
With blessings in full measure
Makes good old Louisiana
The dearest of all states.

Give me Louisiana,
Where love birds always sing
In shady lanes or pastures,
The cowbells softly ring;
The softness of the sunset
Brings peace and blissful rest
Oh give me Louisiana,
The state where I was born
The smell of sweet clover
Which blossoms everywhere
The fresh new mown hay
Where children romp and play
A state of love and laughter,
A state for all here after
Makes good old Louisiana
The grandest of all states.

Deer at Canadian Lakes

Take nothing but pictures.
Leave nothing but footprints.
Kill nothing but time.
~Motto of the Baltimore Grotto, a caving society

Fruit of the Vine

"We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy, even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry." - E. B. White

Paw Paw, Michigan Wineries

Red red wine you make me feel so fine
You keep me rocking all of the time
Red red wine you make me feel so grand
I feel a million dollars when your just in my hand


Red red wine you make me feel so sad
Any time I see you go it make me feel bad
Red red wine you make me feel so fine
Monkey pack him rizla pon the sweet dep line


Red red wine you give me whole heap of zing
Whole heap of zing mek me do me own thing
Red red wine you really know how fi love
Your kind of loving like a blessing from above


Red red wine I love you right from the start
Right from the start with all of my heart


Bob Marley

Leonhardt Lagoon

"Federal WPA (Work Progress Administration) funds constructed The Leonhardt Lagoon in 1936 at the site of the Texas Centennial Exposition. The site takes its name from philanthropist Dorothea Leonhardt.

In the 1980s, workers drained the lagoon, cleaned out excess vegetation, and introduced native Texas plants to restore the lagoon’s ecological balance.

In 1986, artist Pat Johanson fashioned two serpentine sculptures for the lagoon. Made of gunite and steel, the sculptures resemble large plant forms that entwine at the center of the lagoon to create a bridge visitors can traverse.

The lagoon is also the site of swan boat rides and The Leonhardt Lagoon Nature Walk. This walk comprises 25 numbered markers and four descriptive panels highlighting the birds, insects, plants, trees, fish and other wildlife that make their home at the lagoon. A printed walking guide, keyed to the markers, helps visitors learn more about the flora, fauna and wildlife living around the area of each of the markers.

You’ll find the Leonhardt Lagoon between the Museum of Nature & Science and the Cotton Bowl."

Lagoon - 1972

"What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life - to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories." ~George Eliot

"Swan Lake"

"Being born in a duck yard does not matter, if only you are hatched from a swan's egg." -
Hans Christian Anderson

Fair Park Lawn Art

"As the sun colors flowers, so does art color life." ~John Lubbock


"An artist is someone who produces things that people don't need to have but that he - for some reason - thinks it would be a good idea to give them." ~Andy Warhol

Island Pastels

"Why do two colors, put one next to the other, sing? Can one really explain this? No."
Pablo Picasso

Horses With Wings

I'll fly away To that home on God's celestial shore I'll fly away I'll fly away oh glory I'll fly away, in the morning When I die hallelujah by and by I'll fly away When the shadows of this life have gone I'll fly away Like a bird from these prison walls I'll fly I'll fly away Oh how glad and happy when we meet I'll fly away No more cold iron shackles on my feet I'll fly away Just a few more weary days and then I'll fly away To a land where joys will never end I'll fly away (Alfred Brumley)

And Horses Without

The Seahorse


O under the ocean waves
I gallop the seaweed lanes.
I jump the coral reef,
And all with no saddle or reins.


I haven't a flowing mane,
I've only this horsey face.
But under the ocean waves,
I'm king of the steeplechase.

By Blake Morrison

We fell asleep, our goose is cooked, our reputation is shot

Wake up, little Susie, wake up
Wake up, little Susie, wake up
We’ve both been sound asleep, wake up, little Susie, and weep
The movie’s over, it’s four o’clock, and we’re in trouble deep
Wake up little Susie
Wake up little Susie, well

Whatta we gonna tell your mama
Whatta we gonna tell your pa
Whatta we gonna tell our friends when they say “ooh-la-la”
Wake up little Susie
Wake up little Susie, well

I told your mama that you’d be in by ten
Well Susie baby looks like we goofed again
Wake up little Susie
Wake up little Susie, we gotta go home

(Everly Brothers)

Yin and Yang

"There are no greater adversaries than yin and yang, because nothing in Heaven or on Earth escapes them. But it is not yin and yang that do this, it is your heart that makes it so."

Chuang Tzu (360BC-275Bc)









"The climax of the rite of rebirth
Has ascended from the underworld
Is proclaimed in light from the zenith.
In the underworld the sun swims
Between the fish called Yes and No."

Kenneth Rexroth

Colors of Key West

"Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out." ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Life is about using the whole box of crayons." ~Ru Paul
"Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A beauty bomb. And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one. It would explode high in the air - explode softly - and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air. Floating down to earth - boxes of Crayolas. And we wouldn't go cheap, either - not little boxes of eight. Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in. With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest. And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination." - Robert Fulghum

Cottonwood Art Festival

Saturday in the park
I think it was the Fourth of July
Saturday in the park
I think it was the Fourth of July
People dancing, people laughing
A man selling ice cream
Singing Italian songs
Eicay vare, eise narde
Can you dig it (yes, I can)
And I've been waiting such a long time
For Saturday

Another day in the park
I think it was the Fourth of July
Another day in the park
I think it was the Fourth of July
People talking, really smiling
A man playing guitar
Singing for us all
Will you help him change the world
Can you dig it (yes, I can)
And I've been waiting such a long time
For today

Slow motion riders fly the colors of the day
A bronze man still can tell stories his own way
Listen children all is not lost
All is not lost
Oh no, no

Forty days in the park
Every day's the Fourth of July
Forty days in the park
Every day's the Fourth of July
People reaching, people touching
A real celebration
Waiting for us all
If we want it, really want it
Can you dig it (yes, I can)
And I've been waiting such a long time
For the day

(Chicago)

Waiting

Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite. Or waiting around for Friday night or waiting perhaps for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil or a better break or a string of pearls or a pair of pants or a wig with curls or another chance. Everyone is just waiting. ~Dr. Seuss

Rainy Day Sightseeing in Dallas

A horse is a horse, of course, of course,
And no one can talk to a horse of course
That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mister Ed.

Go right to the source and ask the horse
He'll give you the answer that you'll endorse.
He's always on a steady course.
Talk to Mister Ed.

People yakkity yak a streak and waste your time of day
But Mr. Ed will never speak unless he has something to say

A horse is a horse, of course, of course,
And this one'll talk 'til his voice is hoarse.
You never heard of a talking horse?

Well listen to this: "I'm Mister Ed."